5 Rewarding Reasons to Keep a Diary

Writing things down is a surprisingly powerful way to enhance your professional and personal life.

With that in mind, here are five good reasons why keeping a diary is a worthwhile hobby.

1. Gain Some Perspective

In life, love, and work, it can be difficult to see the bigger picture. At times, it all feels like one, big, directionless blur.

But by documenting your days (or weeks), you can look back on your progress whenever you feel lost. There's nothing quite like reading about your situation six months ago to give you the perspective you need in order to get your head straight.

2. Goal Setting, Planning, and Attacking

We’ve all heard about the benefits of writing goals down, so why not write them in your diary? It’s the perfect place to keep your goals and ideas organized (and away from prying eyes).

Furthermore, you can use the private confines of your diary to expand upon each goal, detailing your plan of attack. Once you reach your goals, you can write about how it felt to do so, giving you the mental fuel you need to set new goals, and tackle the remaining ones.

But by keeping a diary, you can hack your brain to build self confidence naturally.

The process of documenting positive experiences allows your brain to relive it. This further acquaints your mind with your successes, allowing it to easily ride out any bouts of self-doubt that may come to pass.

By keeping a journal, you’ll spend a fair amount of time jotting down your thoughts and ideas, and that can only be a good thing for your IQ. Plus, writing things down regularly will also boost your memory, which can’t hurt either, right?

5. Reward Your Future Self

I often wonder about the thoughts that were going through my mind at certain points in my life. When it comes to specific events, that wondering can become a lingering curiosity.

But due to not keeping a diary in my younger years, that curiosity will never truly be satisfied.

Had I kept a diary, I would have the luxury of tracing my thoughts and actions back to specific days, allowing me to see exactly what was going through my mind at the time. So do your future self a favour; document your journey through life by writing about it as much as you can. That way, you’ll never forget about the journey your mind went through, either.

Ease Into It

If you want to be consistent about keeping a diary, be sure to ease into the habit. It’s supposed to be a long term thing, after all.

Start by writing in it twice a week on set days, and allow yourself to become accustomed to recording your struggles, hopes, dreams, and everything in between.

Do you keep a diary? Let us know about the benefits that it brings to your life in the comments section below.

About the Author

Kaya Ismail is a wordsmith and founder of Employ the Internet. He is a seasoned content marketer with a love for video games and coffee.

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